Racist Judge Lets Past Experience Influence Decisions!

[LnGrrrR]

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/05/27/sotomayor/


How dare this person use their experience to help people that are experiencing issues similar to the one this person grew up with? Only THE LAW should be a judge's guide!

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Judge Samuel Alito's Nomination to the Supreme Court

U.S. SENATOR TOM COBURN (R-OK): Can you comment just about Sam Alito, and what he cares about, and let us see a little bit of your heart and what's important to you in life?
ALITO: Senator, I tried to in my opening statement, I tried to provide a little picture of who I am as a human being and how my background and my experiences have shaped me and brought me to this point.
ALITO: I don't come from an affluent background or a privileged background. My parents were both quite poor when they were growing up.
And I know about their experiences and I didn't experience those things. I don't take credit for anything that they did or anything that they overcame.
But I think that children learn a lot from their parents and they learn from what the parents say. But I think they learn a lot more from what the parents do and from what they take from the stories of their parents lives.
And that's why I went into that in my opening statement. Because when a case comes before me involving, let's say, someone who is an immigrant -- and we get an awful lot of immigration cases and naturalization cases -- I can't help but think of my own ancestors, because it wasn't that long ago when they were in that position.
And so it's my job to apply the law. It's not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result.
But when I look at those cases, I have to say to myself, and I do say to myself, "You know, this could be your grandfather, this could be your grandmother. They were not citizens at one time, and they were people who came to this country."
When I have cases involving children, I can't help but think of my own children and think about my children being treated in the way that children may be treated in the case that's before me.
And that goes down the line. When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account. When I have a case involving someone who's been subjected to discrimination because of disability, I have to think of people who I've known and admire very greatly who've had disabilities, and I've watched them struggle to overcome the barriers that society puts up often just because it doesn't think of what it's doing -- the barriers that it puts up to them.
So those are some of the experiences that have shaped me as a person.
COBURN: Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I think I'll yield back the balance of my time at this time, and if I have additional questions, get them in the next round.
SPECTER: Thank you very much, Senator Coburn.

[ChumpDumper]

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee139/tasteoflog/thth687926.gif

[George Gervin's Afro]

SEN. KOHL: Judge Thomas, I'd like to ask you why you want this job?

JUDGE THOMAS: Senator, being nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States is one of the highest callings in our country. It is an opportunity, it is an entrustment, an entrusting of responsibility by the people of this country, by this body to make some of the most difficult and important decisions in our country. It is an opportunity to serve, to give back and that's been something that has been important to me. And I believe, Senator, that I can make a contribution, that I can bring something different to the Court, that I can walk in the shoes of the people who are affected by what the Court does. You know, on my current court I have occasion to look out the window that faces C Street, and there are converted buses that bring in the criminal defendants to our criminal justice system, bus load after bus load. And you look out and you say to yourself, and I say to myself almost every day, "But for the grace of God there go I."




From Bush's July 1, 1991, remarks (accessed from the Nexis database):

After graduation from Yale Law School, he worked for then Missouri attorney general John Danforth, and spent 2 1/2 years litigating cases of all descriptions. In 1977, Judge Thomas practiced law in the private sector, and in 1979, he rejoined Senator Danforth as a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate. In 1981, President Reagan appointed him Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education. From 1982 to 1990, he served as President Reagan's Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And I appointed him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1990.

I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. He's also a fiercely independent thinker with an excellent legal mind, who believes passionately in equal opportunity for all Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the facts and the law require.

Judge Thomas' life is a model for all Americans, and he's earned the right to sit on this nation's highest Court. And I am very proud, indeed, to nominate him for this position, and I trust that the Senate will confirm this able man promptly.


:wow

[doobs]

I missed the part where he says that, more of than not, he comes to better conclusions than a Latina without his experiences.

[Marcus Bryant]

Such is the way of our politics. It's not enough for a prospective Supreme Court Associate Justice to have demonstrated a capability for the job and have impressive credentials. Nay, they must show that they fit into a previously disadvantaged category, preferably one which can help attract more support for the president who selected them. African-American? Check. Italian-American? Check. Latina-American? Check.

Everyone's a victim. Middle Class-American? Check. Laid off from your well paying job because of the current economic downturn-American? Check.

All we need now is for some male European-American to make the claim that, as a member of the oppressive caste in this country, they understand how it really works and therefore make for a superior candidate for whatever office.

[Wild Cobra]

I'm sorry, but how are those quotes the same as the current nominee?

How are they racist?

I think there are unfounded assumptions in the works here.

[boutons_deux]

there is no obligation for a nominee to grilled by Congress. nominees should give no hint of how they will vote, since that contrains them before they hear the cases. grilling nominees is a fairly recent political dog-and-pony show, started in the 70s I think

[Bender]

alito brings up his background, in a similar fashion to sotomayor. However, he qualifies his statements by adding that its just his job to "apply" the law, not bend it or make it what he thinks it should be.

[Wild Cobra]

alito brings up his background, in a similar fashion to sotomayor. However, he qualifies his statements by adding that its just his job to "apply" the law, not bend it or make it what he thinks it should be.
Exactly. That's why I made my last posting as I did.

[JoeChalupa]

alito brings up his background, in a similar fashion to sotomayor. However, he qualifies his statements by adding that its just his job to "apply" the law, not bend it or make it what he thinks it should be.

So did Sotamayor by saying she was not advocating it at all.

[LnGrrrR]

As DarrinS would say... *crickets*

Edit: I posted this quite a while ago. Not sure why it showed up so late in the thread. :)

[FaithInOne]

http://www.creepygif.com/images/full/10.gif

fail.

[ChumpDumper]

Funny, it worked on mine.

I'll host it.

[LnGrrrR]

I'm sorry, but how are those quotes the same as the current nominee?

How are they racist?

I think there are unfounded assumptions in the works here.

He thinks he can use his past experience to help immigrants ie. other races!

Look, he even supports immigrations!

MY GOD!

[LnGrrrR]

Exactly. That's why I made my last posting as I did.

Do you disagree that courts "make" law all the time by determining how the law will "apply" in certain cases, setting a precedent?

[hope4dopes]

Well it appears that the white liberal bourgeois has moved from simply being on their knees for Obama to being on their hands and knees.

[Wild Cobra]

He thinks he can use his past experience to help immigrants ie. other races!

Look, he even supports immigrations!

MY GOD!

I fail to understand what is wrong with what he said. I support immigration too. I do not support illegal immigration.

[Wild Cobra]

Do you disagree that courts "make" law all the time by determining how the law will "apply" in certain cases, setting a precedent?
To a point, yes. I have always advocated that all laws have a purpose and scope written into them, so the loopholes are minimized. However, judicial activism goes way overboard at times.

[LnGrrrR]

To a point, yes. I have always advocated that all laws have a purpose and scope written into them, so the loopholes are minimized. However, judicial activism goes way overboard at times.

Who's to determine when it's 'acceptable' and when it's 'overboard'? Honestly, it's a good question, but there's no definite line to draw.

[Darrin]

I don't believe that empathy is a bad quality in a judge. I just wish it would be applied to all the cases before Samuel Alito.

[Yonivore]

And so it's my job to apply the law. It's not my job to change the law or to bend the law to achieve any result.
Nothing else in the quote points to any hint that he'd allow his background color his decision.

He said he couldn't help but think about his background when such cases come before the court but, never implied or explicitly stated he'd allow those experiences to affect his application of the law.

Ms. Sotomayer, on the other hand, explicitly stated her background as a latina made her better able to decide cases than a white man.

Better. B-e-t-t-e-r.

She said BETTER.

Sorry, the White House seems to be ignoring that word in her statement. Didn't want you guys to miss it.

[ChumpDumper]

No she said she would hope it would.

Hope. H-O-P-E.

She said HOPE.

Seriously, read the rest of the passage -- she goes on to say the complete opposite of what you are accusing.

[Yonivore]

No she said she would hope it would.

Hope. H-O-P-E.

She said HOPE.

Seriously, read the rest of the passage -- she goes on to say the complete opposite of what you are accusing.
Why would she hope that?

Sorry, her concurrence on the Ricci case says otherwise.

[ChumpDumper]

Seriously, read the rest of it. Why are you afraid to do so?

Her concurrence in Ricci says she was following the laws as written. It's law that should probably be changed, but until then you claim to not to want judges to legislate from the bench, right?

[Yonivore]

Seriously, read the rest of it. Why are you afraid to do so?

Her concurrence in Ricci says she was following the laws as written. It's law that should probably be changed, but until then you claim to not to want judges to legislate from the bench, right?
Her concurrence in Ricci let stand a seriously flawed District Court ruling, uncritically and void of any reference to the law or constitutional issues raised.

[ChumpDumper]

So is that your learned legal opinion from years in practice and on the bench or just some shit you read in a blog that told you how to think?